Everything College Football from Scott Bilo, National Football Foundation and Football Writers Association Member. CFB Hall of Fame voter. Covering FBS and FCS College Football. Have appeared on ESPN 1100 Las Vegas and on ESPN 105.9 Jackson, MS. Keith Harding Lead Statistician Co-Editor, Dina Bilo Social Networking Director, Co-Editor. Contact us at powerratedsports@yahoo.com
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Monday, October 5, 2015

Week 5 PASS/FAIL Reports: Big 10

BIG 10

PASS: Indiana,
Purdue, Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois

Despite losing RB Jordan Howard to an ankle injury, Indiana still led Ohio State at the
half, and forced the Buckeyes to play on their heels all day long. Despite
losing 34-27, Indiana receives a PASS for a heroic effort on the day, even
after losing Howard and QB Nate Sudfeld.

Purdue also
lost, but gets a PASS on effort alone as they refused to go away, as Markell Jones
rushed for 157 yards in the losing effort.

Northwestern shut
out Minnesota for the first time since 1959 in a 27-0 win. The Wildcat defense
led the day once again, and Clayton Thorson rushed for 2 TDs in the win. Northwestern
is 5-0 for the first time since 2012.

Iowa survived
a grinding nail biter to hang onto a 10-6 win over Wisconsin, and capitalized
on 3 crucial Badger turnovers, including a fumble recovery at the 1 yard line
to prevent Wisconsin from pulling ahead late. It’s the first Iowa win over
Wisconsin since 2009, and Kirk Ferentz got his 120th career win.

Michigan earned
their 2nd straight shutout in a 28-0 win over Maryland. Drake
Johnson rushed for one score and caught another as the Wolverines blew the game
open in the 3rd quarter during a 15-0 run.

Zeke Elliott ran for 274 yards and 3 TDs, and it’s a good
thing he did, as the Buckeyes were
forced to score 28 points in the 2nd half, and were also forced to
deflect a desperation pass in the end zone as the clock expired to hold off
Indiana. Ohio State was supposed to be far better than this in 2015.

Michigan State jumped
to a 21-0 lead over Purdue, and then were held to a FG in the 2nd
half and had to fend off a very bad Purdue team to hang on to a 24-21 win. The
Spartans, like the Buckeyes, are not living up to expectations despite being
unbeaten.

Minnesota suffered
through another offensively inept performance against Northwestern, rolling up
a paltry 183 total yards of offense and it looks like they will be a non-factor
in the Big 10 race.

Wisconsin now
on the outside looking in in the conference race, as Joel Stave tossed two
picks and fumbled at the Iowa 1 yard line in a 10-6 loss. The root cause of the
loss was an offense that was absolutely abysmal throughout, and the Badgers
absolutely need to go out and recruit a QB in the worst way.

Maryland was
held to just 105 total yards on the day in a 28-0 loss to Michigan, and the
locals are grumbling, as the fire Randy Edsall/Hire Chip Kelly calls are
starting to come in. Remember that Maryland nearly hired Mike Leach before
settling on Edsell.

Penn State needed
3 turnovers from Army, and Christian Hackenburg underperformed once again with
just 156 yards passing, and the Nittany Lions survived an uninspired effort to
win 20-14 at home.

Tommy Armstrong completed just 10/31 passes on the day,
and Nebraska is off to their worst
start (2-3) in 60 years under Mike Riley, who is already receiving heat in year
one as head coach.

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The Bilo Poll (Power Ratings System) and How It Works

This is not a standard poll, nor is it a popularity contest. It has the ability to make people very happy or very upset. Here is how it works:

You gain positive points for the following:

Winning, winning on the road, winning against teams ranked in the top 35 of this poll, if below the FBS points for beating a higher classification, margin of victory.

You lose points for the following:

Losing, losing at home, losing to teams not in the top 35 of this poll, losing to teams in lower classifications, and margin of loss.

If you are an FCS (1-AA) school or lower, and you beat a team that is in a higher classification, then your point total for the win category doubles, but if you lose to a higher classification team, your total is zeroed out, and the game is treated like a bye week.

If you beat a team from a lower classification, you only obtain points for margin of victory, nothing else.

If you lose to a lower classification team, your points for the loss double.